Death Stranding, your opinion please

[Haibane]

I am extremely fussy about video games but this one keeps popping up and I'm wondering who has played it and if so what you think of it. It seems to be getting good reviews but I just can't gather what its really about.

I tried searching E for an existing thread but nothing came up. If there is one, its cool to direct me to it and I'll read there.

Thank you.

[vin26m]

This was months ago, so I don't remember the details that well.

I didn't play it, but I watched a friend playing it and I got really bored.

The only thing that stood out was the beautiful graphics.

Other than that, the story seemed lame, and the gameplay was mostly inventory organization and delivering stuff on foot over long distances.

There was danger everywhere but he didn't have anything to fight back with.

Apparently a part of the package delivery gameplay (really the only gameplay - the rest of the time you seem to be watching cutscenes) is being able to walk while keeping your balance.  You want to deliver as many packages as possible, the packages are of varying sizes and weights, and you have to balance the packages in and on your backpack. 

Maintaining your balance is harder when you walk faster (like running away from something), when you have more packages and when you are walking on difficult terrain.

If you lose your balance, you fall, your packages fall off and you have to collect everything and keep going.

I asked my friend why he's playing this and he said something along the lines of being an idiot or maybe just being a masochist.  But he certainly wasn't having any fun and he didn't feel any achievement despite the frustration.

I don't know how it got great reviews.  But there are lots of bad reviews for it too.

[Formless]

The gameplay doesn't open up until chapter 3 or 4.

I gave the game a chance but to me, it felt rather repetitive from a gameplay perspective.

The story may seem interesting since the game takes its time introducing the lore and slowly explaining things bit by bit.
I just couldn't finish it.

Like Vin26m said, the graphics are gorgeous.

I would suggest looking up gameplay videos and decide for yourself, because personally, the one word that comes to mind when the game is mentioned is that its a 'slog'. There's little entertainment besides the mystery of the story, but to get it bit by bit while playing killed my enthusiasm.

[Haibane]

It does sound rather fun. Stealth games are my thing, and combat less so. I like the humour as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q_fj-PO0JI

[Sabre]

While stuck indoors for the past few months, I've come to love this game even more. There's essentially just one activity in the game, but it does it so well that I can't help but praise it to no end. The way the game's mechanics and flow work with so little UI was seriously impressive, and I don't think I've ever seen a take on an online community that I've liked better, where every action you take is passively helping someone even if you don't ever realize it. There are a lot of Japanese game studios that go to absurd lengths to include tiny mechanics and easter eggs in their games, but I think Death Stranding is the first I've seen that makes the whole game a well-connected series of hidden mechanics and attention to detail.

It also continues the same story-telling style Kojima tried in MGSV, where a lot of the content goes beyond the basic plot elements of the story and spends a lot of time on building its themes and subtext. It plays like how an immersive novel reads, which is great because the game is full of references to books and people that I think no one else has ever read in the game industry, and that's a major plus from me.

[Giantmutantcrab]

Phew.

I played a good 30 hours of the game. Went up to chapter 5... And uninstalled it.

I gave it a chance. I really did. But there is nothing to like about this game.

Your entire gameplay revolves around walking, yet the game does everything to make that as slow and tedious as possible. Everywhere is covered in rocks and hills and the concept of a flat plain is nonexistant. Your character will stumble and fall because of a sidewalk.

The controls are abysmal.

The word to describe the gameplay? Tedious. Everything is grindy tedium. You carry packages from one point to another for facebook likes. Invisible enemies haunt an area, forcing you to slow down to a literal crawl. Then, you throw your urine and feces at those creatures. Yes, you throw your poo-poo at monsters. Like a chimpanzee.

The story is absolute nonsense. The characters were named by the guy who thinks up Megaman villains. You got Deadman. And Hardman. And Fragile, whose punch line is "I'm Fragile... But not that fragile."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*inhales*

HAHAHAHAHA

Seriously, what the hell?

The dialogue is some of the dumbest stuff I've heard in years.

I believe that a game requires two simple qualities; to be fun and to have a certain replay value. Did you enjoy it? Would you play it again? This thing scored 0 out of 2 for me. To quote video game donkey; "Let's hope that this is the last strand type game".

I truly wish I did not touch this game. It was a putrid experience.

[Inkidu]

I find it very engaging, and I'd dare say I like it, but I have yet to finish it, and I can't tell if the game doesn't keep my attention or if it's my general game funk right now.

[Tsenta]

Ahhh Death Stranding.  Delivery simulator with epic graphics.

[Scylla]

I want to play Death Stranding.  I really do!  The tedium of packages delivery and managing weight versus terrain navigation is JUST my wheelhouse!!  But.. the baby..

I have three kids.  And I can’t deal with a baby crying and needing to be rocked and cradled as a game mechanic.  I just can’t.  So until there’s a mod that makes the baby a kitten or something, I’m out.  <:(